Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Agencies and vendors had little time to prepare for the widespread ban on Chinese telecommunications products from companies like ZTE and Huawei. It went into effect Aug. 13 and while contractors knew the federal acquisition regulation change was in the works for the better part of a year, they say their input and insight into the government's plans was limited. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller wrote about why several industry associations, representing hundreds of contractors, agree with the spirit and intent of the interim final rule. But they believe some adjustments are necessary to truly protect the federal supply chain. Jason joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio for more.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt recently signed an executive order expanding the department's ethics activities. Among other measures, it reorganized the Office of Ethics and gave the top ethics officer full access to the secretary. With what the order is designed to accomplish, and how, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to Scott de la Vega, director of the ethics office.

A Supreme Court decision last year ruled that public employee unions can't collect dues unless members individually sign waivers specifically giving away their constitutional first amendment rights. That case concerned non-federal unions. But what about federal unions? Previously, Federal Drive with Tom Temin heard from the National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation the opinion that the decision does apply at the federal level. National Treasury Employees Union staff attorney Jessica Horne joined the show to share what one major union thinks.

For services contractors, the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act is like a pack of Marlboros. There's a lot to like, but there's also a lot they'd like to drop in the ash tray. For details, David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Defense Department has more than 1,500 recommendations from its inspector general that haven’t been resolved. Eighty of those have been awaiting action for five years or more. Like other federal OIGs, the Pentagon’s inspector general thinks it’s important to publish an update on where those recommendations stand each year. The 2019 version is just out and for what’s inside, Federal News Network's Jared Serbu spoke with the DoD IG’s Principal Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Troy Meyer. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The impending award of the Pentagon’s JEDI Cloud contract has consumed the attention of a good portion of the Defense IT community. But when it comes to cloud migrations, the Navy isn’t waiting for JEDI, which is no sure thing. The service has just finished moving its gigantic enterprise resource planning system to a commercial cloud environment. As Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu reports, it’s one of the biggest moves to the cloud in North American history.

The Alaska pollock fishery in Alaska’s Bering Sea is one of the most abundant sources of sustainable fish in the world. That’s partly because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration helps to actively manage the fishery by keeping close watch on every detail of the ecosystem. But changes in climate can have major effects on how many pollock survive in a given year. Elizabeth Siddon is a scientist at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. She’s the recipient of a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for her research, which has led to major improvements in forecasting fish population dynamics. She spoke with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu about her work on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Alaska pollock fishery in Alaska’s Bering Sea is one of the most abundant sources of sustainable fish in the world. That’s partly because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration helps to actively manage the fishery by keeping close watch on every detail of the ecosystem. But changes in climate can have major effects on how many pollock survive in a given year. Elizabeth Siddon is a scientist at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. She’s the recipient of a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for her research, which has led to major improvements in forecasting fish population dynamics. She spoke with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu about her work on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

A group of 30 students graduated last month from the first ever class of the Federal Cybersecurity Reskilling Academy. The coursework was difficult. But class members passed their certification exams with flying colors. The Trump administration said the success of the initial pilot shows the program can grow, although it acknowledges the challenges. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Army is rushing to develop its new cyber and electronic warfare units. But in its rush it's outrunning its supply of people — so much so that the first cyber battalion is mostly vacant. For details, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at the Government Accountability Office, John Pendleton.

After a 18-month fight with Congress, the Environmental Protection has closed its Large Lakes Research Station in Michigan on Wednesday. The station served as an outpost for several federal agencies for nearly a century. It's been around longer than the EPA itself. But the agency said the lab was a perfect candidate to shutter under a mandate to reduce office space. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Sometimes the surging waters from hurricanes are more damaging and deadly than the wind. Now the National Weather Services is better at forecasting storm surges. Jamie Rhome is a storm surge specialist at the the Weather Service's National Hurricane Center. He leads the team that developed a new and sophisticated surge model and warning system that gives earlier warnings of potential floods. The finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more discussion.

The award in 2017 of the FirstNet first responder communications network contract to AT&T didn't end the competition for first responder agency communications. Earlier this week Federal Drive with Tom Temin heard from FirstNet operator AT&T. Now, in the fourth and final part of this series, FirstNet Update, Mike Maiorana, senior vice president for Public Sector at Verizon, cited the fact that the FirstNet award to AT&T resulted in a first responder network built on commercial standards. Therefore Verizon could keep a hand in the market, he said.

A deluge of electronic records is taking a toll on the government’s mostly pen-and-paper system for declassifying records. That’s the big takeaway of a report to the president from the National Archives and Records Administration’s Information Security Oversight Office. Mark Bradley is the director of the ISOO, and he told Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman how agencies can stay on top of their workloads in the digital age. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

No matter how much federal agency web staff work on their sites, it's always a challenge. Now a survey by Booz Allen shows the level of usage by the public of federal websites is going down by some measures. Executive Vice President Dee Dee Helfenstein had the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.